


Insomnia's Infiltrator

by BlackPencilKitten



Series: Loqi Week 2018 [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks, Reconnaissance, Spy!Loqi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 07:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15967445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackPencilKitten/pseuds/BlackPencilKitten
Summary: Paratus Locito, known as Loqi Tummelt by Niflheim, lives undercover in the Crown City itself on a month-long reconnaissance mission. He is to use his skill for engineering robotic bugs to collect information about the prince and his closest friends, along with the defenses of the city.Instead, he finds himself accidentally befriending his next door neighbor, who happens to be one of said prince's friends.Dammit.





	Insomnia's Infiltrator

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 Prompts: Enemy and/or Spy!Loqi

After Ardyn dropped him off within Insomnia’s borders with enough money for his own place--Crown City Currency, of course,-- his supplies, and in a rather shitty disguise, Loqi had to remind himself to breathe. As his nose was flooded with the smell of cheap perfume, he immediately regretted it.

If he was entirely honest, never in his life did he think he’d be inside Lucis’ capital. His missions were normally assassinations within Niflheim’s borders and seizing back territory from daemons, alongside patrols via aircraft with squads of magitek infantry. He was never sent outside of Niflheim, though, and it was thanks to his skill with engineering that he was here in the first place. Oh, how he wished some fantasies were real, so he could hear Verstael apologize for calling his robots ‘useless toys’ and ‘child’s play’.

He wished indeed.

Pulling the hood of his jacket over his head--and suffering even further as he was bombarded with more perfume--Loqi quickly opened up his given backpack of supplies. Essentials and his toolkit, his companion of a robotic butterfly, currently dormant, and a bar of stress chocolate. Perfect. After zipping his backpack back up and throwing it over his shoulder, he hesitated for only a second before leaving the safety of the alleyway.

Whatever image of Insomnia he had in his head faded as he took in his surroundings. Neon lights decorated the signs of nearby restaurant and shops, flickering off and on at random. Sheets of cloth were strung up as makeshift awnings over some, but others lacked one altogether. Half the doors in his sight had paint peeled off and holes where pieces had broke off, and multiple walls were leaning or had sections missing, covered with wooden boards, cloth, or cheap metal. As he turned his gaze skyward, he was met with stone bridges towering over the area, leading into what undoubtedly had to be the better side of the Crown City.

He never thought the city would have layers, let alone slums. From what descriptions he got over the years, it was simply a utopia. When he thinks back to how utopias were portrayed in books, however, he realized that frankly he shouldn’t be surprised.

Something buzzed in his pocket, and Loqi scrambled to get the object out, eyes widening as he recognized what it was.

A  _ phone _ .

Phones were forbidden in Gralea, only given to those of the highest ranking like High Commander Ravus. If he was getting one as a brigadier general, how important  _ was _ this month-long mission? Of course, it was likely heavily monitored and only for communication purposes, but he couldn’t help himself from staring in awe. He soon shifted his attention to a notification, a text from Chancellor Ardyn, or as Loqi changed the contact name: Jackass.

_ ‘Done sightseeing yet?~’ _

Loqi whirled around, expecting to see the smug chancellor standing right behind him. No one was there, and he should know because he would’ve heard any footsteps. Still, that one tilde left him on edge, and he backed himself against a wall for protection.

_ “I didn’t even start. Mind telling me  _ **_where_ ** _ in Insomnia you dropped me off?” _

As he waited for a response, Loqi started walking in a random direction, keeping an eye out for anything that led  _ up _ . For reconnaissance, he expected to at least be somewhere where he could see the Citadel. Before he had recognized what side of the city he was in, he would’ve chewed the Chancellor out for dropping him in an  _ alley _ , one of the most  _ suspicious _ places to be, in  _ dark grey _ . Now, though, he was grateful, because what few people he passed by looked just as ragged and dark as he did.

For the ‘City that Never Sleeps’, everyone sure looked like they wanted to do just that.

_ ‘The slums near the Citadel, of course.’ _

_ “I can’t even  _ **_see_ ** _ the Citadel.” _

_ ‘Neither can one of your targets.’ _

That cleared things up, then. The next text from Jackass included the directions to an apartment complex, but when asked exactly  _ how _ he’s supposed to get a room, the reply was incredibly vague.

_ ‘Trust me.’ _

There was zero reason to, he wanted to reply, before sending back a short ‘OK.’

Before following the directions, Loqi took note of what was in the immediate vicinity: a few restaurants, a grocery store, and food stalls, along with a general store and a bar. The residents seemed to be making the most of what they had, and he admired their dedication to salvaging and remodelling everything into a workable state. A closer look revealed the tips of plants poking up from rooftops, and a smile sneaked its way onto his face.

Resourceful. If only Gralea managed to be that  _ and _ have a friendly--as it gets--appearance.

Done sightseeing for now, Loqi started following the directions to the apartment. Along the way, he passed by various residents, who each gave him… an odd look. Was his backpack open--he double-checked to make sure--no. Maybe it was his clothes, but in his opinion they didn’t look terribly out of place, hoodies and sweats were common, right? The eye was naturally attracted to movement, it was all a simple misunderstanding, it had to be,  _ he was overthinking. _

As the looks piled on top of each other, though, an uneasy feeling crept through his body. Dark clouds obscured the sky, but he found himself sweating, and it didn’t feel particularly humid. His ears rang, even though the surrounding noise was quiet compared to his heartbeat. There was nothing in his throat or nose, and yet it felt like someone had a hand around his neck and wouldn’t let go.

He almost ran straight into the doors of the apartments the directions led to.

Reorienting himself, his hand shook as he entered the complex. A near spotless reception area greeted him, with cushioned chairs and a table to his right and the reception counter straight ahead. Stairs were a short walk down a hall to his left, and past the reception area was a sign that pointed towards the elevators. There was a potted plant on both the windowsills and the reception counter, which was currently attended to by a pissed-off looking receptionist.

The moment they locked eyes, Loqi gulped.

“Are you Paratus Locito?”

His heart stopped, and it’s a miracle his legs didn’t give out from under him. In sudden, overwhelming panic his brain shutdown, though not before he squeaked out a reply.

“Y-Y-Yes?”

The receptionist gestured towards him, and he walked towards the counter with trembling legs and equally shaky arms. Mumbles hit his ears that he couldn’t decipher, and then his hands surged out to catch two objects thrown at him.

“You’re lucky your neighbor turned these in instead of keeping or throwing them out. Keep your shit with you, or you’ll be paying for a new set of keys and a new ID.”

A meek apology and thanks forced their way out of his mouth as his legs dragged him past reception and to the elevator, which was miraculously empty as he stepped inside. One hand clutching a wall rail, he managed to recognize his given items as a wallet, ID included but void of money, and a key attached to a card stating his floor and room number.

He jabbed the number 4 button so hard he was surprised it didn’t break.

Once the elevator doors closed, he slumped to the floor, pulled his knees up, and rested his head against them as pain bloomed in his chest, his throat closed off, and his stomach churned with butterflies and the remnants of his lunch.

This is fine, this must be the plan, everything was going wonderfully well. He wasn’t dead.  _ Yet _ .

If his mind wasn’t screaming bloody murder, Loqi would’ve wished the ride was longer so he didn’t have to get up so soon. Alas, the doors opened and he staggered to his feet, swaying as he left the elevator. He threw his hands out to steady himself as he walked, and it took minutes longer than it should for him to figure out which way he had to go to get to his room.

At the end of the left hall, the numbers on the door and his keycard matched. It took five tries to get the key into the doorknob, and his brain concocted up the lovely image of someone waiting for him with a crowbar, ready to kill him once he opened the door.

With a drawn out squeak, the door swung open, and he was face to face with no one at all.

Loqi took two steps into the room, registered a living room up ahead that had to hold something he could sleep on, decided the floor would do for now, and promptly collapsed.

Pain radiated from his cheek, some in his knees, and the world blurred like a TV screen cutting to static. Someone screamed, and it couldn’t be him because his mouth had seized up when he stepped out of the elevator. Perhaps that was the pain, or his mind, or even the real Paratus. May Death take him soon.

Something opened nearby, and he felt eyes look him over before someone was kneeling beside him. They talked and talked, and yet he couldn’t understand them, couldn’t make sense of whatever was coming out of their mouth. A hand touched his shoulder and he instinctively flinched, forcing a numb arm to push himself up so his head wasn’t against the floor.

“Sorry! You weren’t responding a-and I thought you were dead, my mistake.”

The ground refused to stop spinning, and he must’ve shook his head because the figure beside him spoke again.

“Well I-I’m glad you’re not dead, but uh, are you alright? I heard a thud and I couldn’t stop myself f-from checking it out!”

From his new position Loqi turned his head to see who this random person was. Most notable was bright yellow hair that screamed ‘unnatural’ and striking blue eyes with a hint of purple. They couldn’t be much younger than him, only 2-4 years at most, and he guessed they had to be in their last years of high school. He noted that they were skinnier than himself, but otherwise of a similar build.

It took a few seconds to realize the man was expecting a response.

“Y… Yeah, I’m fine, just fell. No need to worry.”

The man squinted before his expression fell back to worry.

“Are you sure? You looked like you had fainted or something--that wasn’t a heart attack, was it?!”

Loqi had a curt reply ready, but something about the man’s voice made what anger he had disappear. Hell, he found himself stifling an actual laugh to  _ avoid _ being rude.

“Nah, it wasn’t a heart attack. Simple dizziness spell, they happen.”

The man still looked doubtful, but he soon let up and stood up, but not before offering his hand out.

“At least let me help you up then!”

Slipping his arms out of his backpack straps, Loqi took the man’s hand and got to his feet with only a wince and a quiet grunt. He had to steady himself against the door, but he flashed another smile to hopefully reassure the other guy. It appeared to work, as the man returned his smile with an even bigger one.

“Thanks--and sorry about all this. Didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“It’s no problem at all--I’m glad you’re not dead! Name’s Prompto by the way--I’m right next door, and you must be Paratus!”

Loqi’s eyes widened, at least until Prompto scrambled to explain himself.

“O-Oh sorry, that must be weird for me to know you before you knew me--I was the one that turned in your wallet and key! I would’ve waited for you to return but I had stuff to do and--yeah. Sorry.”

At moment Loqi realized he wasn’t holding said wallet and key, and he looked around in split-second panic before spotting them on the floor. He must’ve dropped them when he fell. He picked them up with a sheepish smile, storing them in the pockets of his hoodie.

“Ah, it’s fine. Better that you turned it in before someone else found them--I don’t want to think about what they could do with them.”

Prompto let out a quiet laugh, before stopping as his smile turned awkward.

“Yeah. Well, I’ll see you around then, maybe! Have a good night!”

“Yeah, um, you too!”

In the blink of an eye Prompto was gone, and Loqi paused before he gathered his bag off the ground and fully entered his room, shutting and locking the door behind him. Resting against said door, he pulled out and opened his wallet to inspect his ID closely.

Surprisingly, it actually had a photo of himself in it, and the longer he looked at it the more he realized just how  _ bad _ he looked. It was mostly his hair, dyed black in a rush with cheap dye because “only old people have white hair in Lucis, Loqi.” It explained why everyone was looking at him weird on his way here, and knowing that he felt some of his stress melt away. He could actually breathe again, and though his stomach was still upset he didn’t feel as nauseous as before.

Now that he was free of physical human interaction, Loqi took the time to actually explore his place. Besides the immediate living room, which came with a couch, coffee table, and a  _ TV _ , there was an empty kitchen directly after it. To the right of the living room was a hall leading to a bathroom, and before that was a door leading to his bedroom, holding a large bed, two nightstands, a desk facing a window out towards the rest of Insomnia’s slums, and empty frames on the walls.

He’d need to fix that, but for now he simply crawled into bed, threw off his pants, and huddled within his hoodie as he pulled out his phone. No sooner did he turn it on was he confronted with many notifications from none other than Jackass.

_ ‘Kid.’ _

_ ‘Kid.’ _

_ ‘Kid.’ _

_ ‘Little shit.’ _

_ ‘Loqi.’ _

_ ‘Local loser.’ _

_ ‘Dipshit.’ _

_ ‘ParAnswer Your Phone.’ _

_ ‘Mechanical Minor Man.’ _

That made him snort, but he sure as hell wouldn’t admit it.

_ “I’m here I’m here dear Shiva.” _

_ “Also I’m twenty.” _

_ ‘Your point?’ _

_ ‘I take it you got the room?’ _

_ “Yeah, though did the plan have to be ‘getting confronted by a pissed off receptionist and then shutdown for ten minutes?’” _

_ ‘That second part’s on you, but yeah. It worked, didn’t it?’ _

If he didn’t have common sense, he would’ve said that since the Chancellor’s plan caused him to panic, it’s really his fault. Actually, it was less common sense and more self control because  _ really _ , did the plan  _ have _ to be ‘have a scary receptionist drill their eyes into his skull with pure unbridled rage, even if it was for a few seconds?’

_ “Fine, it did.” _

_ “But do explain why my hair looks like it was colored with sharpie compared to yours.” _

_ ‘You think mine’s dyed?’ _

_ “You think I’m dumb enough to believe you have naturally purple hair?” _

_ ‘Yes, because you’re dumb enough not to know that it’s  _ **_red-violet_ ** _ so it’s perfectly natural.’ _

Next time he went to Niflheim, he’d have to ask Ravus what color the chancellor’s hair was. Better to trust a friend than a fr...enemy? He could never tell what Ardyn’s status to himself was, he had a way with words that confused the hell out of him.

“ _ Suit yourself.” _

_ “I met with my neighbor though.” _

_ ‘I didn’t think you were the sociable type.’ _

_ “I’m not. We bumped into each other in the hall.” _

Better to lie than to admit he needed  **help** from a  **complete stranger.**

_ “Seems nice. Had bright yellow hair though.” _

_ “On that note so  _ **_I_ ** _ can’t have my natural hair because ‘only old people have white hair, Loqi’.” _

_ “But  _ **_he_ ** _ can have absolutely golden hair that no one else has and it’s FINE.” _

_ “Completely unfair.” _

_ ‘...’ _

The anxiety that had faded before now returned in full force, all because of a set of ellipses.

_ “What?” _

_ ‘I take back my earlier statement, because you’re even dumber than I thought.’ _

_ “EXCUSE YOU?” _

_ ‘Self excused. Alright kid, did you get his name?’ _

_ “I’m not a KID or DUMB, but yeah. His name is Prompto.” _

There was a rather long pause before Ardyn sent his next message, and though his nausea faded away it was replaced with a growing, uncomfortable tenseness.

_ “Kid that’s one of the prince’s friends.” _

The length of this shutdown was much shorter than the previous one, but it left Loqi with a sense of confusion, fear, and rage, mostly confusion. Add to that his state of exhaustion after a panic attack, and may an astral smite him where he was.

_ “You’ve got.” _

_ “To be fucking.” _

_ “ _ **_Shitting_ ** _ me.” _


End file.
